WORLD VITILIGO DAY

June 25th is a day of celebration of our lives and our community. The first World Vitiligo Day was held in 2011 and has since become an annual, global event. Over the years, its purpose has broadened from raising awareness of vitiligo to include recognition of the bullying, social neglect, psychological trauma and disability of millions of people affected by vitiligo.

We want June 25th to be recognized by the United Nations as World Vitiligo Day. You can help us by signing our petition to the UN Secretary-General - read it below and make sure you go to www.25June.org and add your name to the 100,000s who have already signed.

2017

The campaign headquarters next year will be in Sao Paulo, Brazil, under the presidency of Professor Paulo Cunha. He is well known for his unerring support for the vitiligo cause and he does incredible work with underprivileged communities, including with many Amazonian tribes - who have no access to medical care or dermatological services.

Prof. Cunha is truly committed to bringing the best tools and techniques in the treatment of vitiligo and to fellow dermatologists and patients, organizing national master classes on vitiligo in 2013 and 2016, and holding World Vitiligo Day events since it's inception.

In the US, main celebrations will be held in Detroit on June 23-25. For more details, check out www.wvddetroit2017.com

Archives

2016

This year's rally and other events were one of the largest and most exciting in history of the World Vitiligo Day. Prof. Jana Hercogova, the Chair of WVD 2016 campaign, held a key media event in beautiful Prague.

Celebrations across the world continued the whole weekend. A series of events were held in Washington DC on June 24-25. This idea came alive after a successful rally at the Massachusetts State House organized by VITFriends from Boston last year. Yet nobody could expect that number of participants would grow exponentially. This year, Valerie Molyneaux led a 300-plus rally, representing an array of activists, nonprofits, and also researchers, healthcare workers, politicians and elected officials. We posted a quick report about World Vitiligo Day 2016 campaign here.

2015

World Vitiligo Day 2015 campaign headquarters are in Shenyang, China, under the presidency of Prof. Xing-Hua Gao, MD. Thousands of vehement volunteers around the world raise awareness for vitiligo on the streets and in the media, in addition to 30+ major hospitals receiving vitiligo patients and holding education events today. This year all events started much earlier, on 13 Feb 2015, when the General Body Meeting of Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL), the largest representing society of Indian Dermatologists, has approved the changing of IADVL VITILIGO Day from May 19th to 25th June. Read more

2014

In the last three years, campaign grew from a few volunteers handing out fliers in the streets and a small number of dedicated doctors to 484,687 activists and 50+ clinics offering free skin check-ups in 17 countries. We have already set up two new 'world records' with 225 vitiligo patients seen by dermatologists in the morning at the PIGMER hospital, and 800+ doctors attending events in the afternoon. Forty WVD-branded rickshaws paraded the city of Chandigarh, host of World Vitiligo Day 2014, all day long.
Report and Photos

2013

This year, the World Vitiligo Day changed it's headquarters from Rome (Italy) to Detroit (USA) and was celebrated in a series of synchronized events around the world. These have ranged from the distribution of leaflets to large events, which have made each World Vitiligo Day a huge success and generated worldwide media interest: Fox TV interview with entertainment guru Lee Thomas (photo, right), roundtable with Henry Ford Hospital Dermatology Chair Dr. Henry Lim, art-project with Stephanie Corne and
much more

2012

An ambitious global event, the second World Vitiligo Day was held on the week of 25 June this year. It also marks the passing date of pop-star Michael Jackson, a long-time vitiligo sufferer. The event started with the press conference in Rome on June 22nd, continued with free dermatology consultations across Italy over the weekend, rolled into street events in Brazil and Nigeria, appeared on media radars and screens in Botswana, Chad, China, Czech, France, India, Macedonia, the UK and USA on June 25th, and finished at the national dermatology congress in Russia on June 26th
» » »

2011

The first Vitiligo Awareness Day or Purple Fun Day - what it was called then - was brought to life by Ogo Maduewesi, Founder and President of Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation (VITSAF) at Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria. The online petition was launched at Petitions24 on June 18, 2011. First 111 signatures were collected on the first World Vitiligo Day (pdf). Early next year, VR Foundation helped to re-name the campaign, developed marketing materials and launched www.25June.org, which became the official site of the World Vitiligo Day campaign, on January 18, 2012. Details

Petition Letter

Dear Secretary-General,

Hear us as we speak with one voice about human rights, healthcare and education. We, the undersigned, are just the few of estimated over 100 million people living, working, caring for our children and families all over the world, with this neglected disease, vitiligo.

We contribute to every single industry and culture in the world. We are the rich and the poor. We are the face of the entire all neglected disease community. You find us in schools, hospitals, on TV and movies screens, sport arenas, and churches, while many went into seclusion and voluntary isolation from society.

Although vitiligo daily has destroyed the lives of millions of individuals since recorded history, predominantly in the developing world, there is no cure in sight. But few diseases give rise to more fear and loathing than vitiligo, especially in dark-skinned people, in whom it can be strikingly prominent. And because it is not contagious or life-threatening, we often receive no support whatsoever from our national healthcare systems.

Thus, I support the initiative 25June and respectfully require the United Nations to

1. Urgently pursue multilateral efforts in vitiligo healthcare and education, and to2. Designate June 25 as the World Vitiligo Day.

Mr. Secretary-General, please hear our voice. We know you can encourage Member States to respect our rights. Please pursue policies supportive of neglected disease collaboration, vitiligo in particular. This is central to the human rights and personal dignity of millions of women, men and children on this Earth.

Yours in health and freedom,

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As of July 2, 2016, we have collected 501,497 signatures. Please add yours - go to www.25June.org and sign the petition now!

To find out more about this very special event, go to the official Facebook page for the most up-to-date info and discussions.